United ups the ante with intercontinental Internet

When United announced recently that it would install in-flight Internet on all its mainline aircraft beginning next year, it might not have seemed like a big deal.

After all, airlines have had Internet on board for a couple of years now, and it has become quite common. This, however, is different. This is the first effort by a U.S. airline to provide Internet on intercontinental flights.

You might recognize AirTran, Alaska, American, Delta and Virgin America as airlines that have been aggressively installing Internet aboard their aircraft over the last few years. Those airlines, however, are constrained by geography due to the system they use.

All those carriers contract with Internet provider Gogo, which transmits its signals from the ground: It has stations all over the United States that allow aircraft to connect to the Internet.

But these aren't installed in the water, so fairly soon after you go "feet wet" on your flight, the Internet stops working.

Airlines like this system because it's easy to install (it can be done overnight on an airplane), the system is relatively inexpensive and the bandwidth is cheap. That makes for a winning combination, but it does have constraints. That's why United is going a different route.

United is installing satellite-based Internet. As long as the aircraft is in range of the satellite, the Internet can flow freely. United is far from the first airline to do this. In fact, Southwest has been installing satellite Internet for a while now as well, but there is one big issue.

The problem with satellite-based Internet in general is that it's more expensive.

There also are considerations about the amount of weight added to the aircraft from the antenna, the cost and the amount of time it takes to do an install (longer than the Gogo overnight).

Airlines have been hesitant to sink a lot of money into something that, so far, hasn't seen much use. Though reports are spotty, most airlines have hinted at single-digit percentage usage on aircraft.

United, however, is betting that it will catch on in greater numbers and be an important amenity. As for cost, we can look at United's partner airline Lufthansa to get an idea.

When you fly Lufthansa today, you can pay about $15 for an hour or about $27 for 24 hours.

Now that United has made the move, we have to wait and see if others will follow. A Delta representative said the airline is "reviewing international connectivity options for our customers."

It might not actually be United's move that pushes others to offer long-haul Internet but rather technological advances.

A new satellite was launched last month to provide faster, cheaper Internet. (It uses a different technology than the service United has signed up with for its long-haul flights). JetBlue subsidiary LiveTV has been offering this option, and JetBlue itself will begin installing it on its fleet next year.

Whether Delta and American eventually will put Internet on long-haul fleets remains to be seen.